Human rhino- and enteroviruses in children with respiratory symptoms in Luanda, Angola

The role of human rhinoviruses (HRV) and human enteroviruses (HEV) in common colds, as well as their seasonality, remains largely unknown in tropical environments. The study aimed to define the frequency and clinical features of HRV and HEV in children with respiratory symptoms in tropical Africa during autumn and winter.

Clinical data and PCR assays of nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) were collected from 67 (66%) children with and 35 (34%) children without chronic illnesses who were attending different outpatient clinics at a paediatric tertiary-care hospital in Luanda, Angola.

Thirty-six (35%) children had HIV infection, and 27 (26%) were malnourished. Thirty-seven (36%) out of 102 NPS specimens were virus-positive: 34 (33%) for HRV and 10 (10%) for HEV. Seven (7%) had co-infection. The highest HRV-positivity rate (47%) occurred in July (P = 0·02), a mid-winter month with high relative humidity but no precipitation. Virus positivity was associated with younger age (median 36 vs 52 months, P = 0·02) but not with specific symptoms or findings.

HRVs play a major role in young children's respiratory infections in urban tropical Angola during autumn and winter. A better understanding is required of the seasonality and clinical outcomes of these viruses in children living in resource-poor tropical countries.